Katara's Destiny
by ButterflyDestiny
Summary: There is a story, in a time of war, about a tribe, it's people, and the girl who would become their greatest secret. Katara thought she knew her destiny....She was wrong. AU Zutara
1. Her past

(I got the idea from a vid on youtube called 'Katara the Last waterbender' i credit my idea to RinaBells the vids creator. she has given me permission to use the idea. hope you enjoy the fic)

The people screaming, blood staining the pure white snow, fighting and endless violence. One thing she could not push from her mind was the smell of soot in the air and the overpowering order of death. She could still see flashes of her mother's dead body. The young girl of 15 rolled over in her bed unable to sleep. Glancing out her window she could see the large pure white moon full and high in the night sky. She could feel her waterbending getting stronger as it always did in the full moon's light. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake memories of her past from her mind.

There had been stories back in Water Tribe of when the Fire Nation had raided the Southern Water Tribe and captured all of its waterbenders taking them hostage and laid it to near ruins. When she was younger and still lived in the Southern Water Tribe it had been invaded by Fire Nation soldiers like it had been years before. Katara had only 4 when it happened. Apparently they had heard rumors of there being still one waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe and had come in search of sad waterbender. They had murdered her mother and left without taking Katara which confused her. After they had set her mother's body to rest on the sea her father had sat her down with her older brother Sokka and explained that it was no longer safe for Katara to stay in the tribe in case the Fire Nation soldiers returned to capture her. She thought it was ironic that to keep her safe they had sent her to the Fire Nation to be put into hiding.

That was where she'd met her mentor Hama. She was an elderly woman now but when she'd met Katara she was in her late forties. Fortunately for Katara Hama had been one of the waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe who'd been capture years before but she'd been the only one who'd escaped. She'd taught Katara all her waterbending techniques and trained her in stealth. Training was long and hard but as she got older it was easier. Hama had begun talking about how it was Katara's destiny that they'd met and that her destiny was to destroy the Fire Nation from inside the country itself. Over the past two years she'd put her training to use and with coaxing and encouragement from Hama had begun to go after the Fire Nation armies, killing soldiers, destroying their weapons and stealing important documents. Although she knew it was wrong to keep secrets from Hama Katara had been secretly going through and stealing files from Fire Nation military sights in search of the army that had been sent to find her and had killed her mother instead. Her body burned for revenge. She wanted whoever killed her mother to pay with their life.

Releasing a deep sigh she curled up in a tight ball and closed her eyes praying for sleep to come. The familiar feeling of lightness filled her body as she drifted off but not before a faint image of her mother filled her mind.


	2. A day at the market

"Katara it's time to wake up." Hama said shaking her gently to awaken her.

Katara groaned and opened her blue eyes to see the elderly woman smiling warmly at her before leaving the room. Climbing out of bed Katara did her morning stretches and yoga breathing and poses before grabbing a glass of water off her nightstand and drinking it down. The day looked to be a rather hot one so she decided to wear a simple red knee length skirt and a matching red belly shirt with a phoenix on the back.

Slipping on her brown sandals she walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen where her breakfast sat on the table and Hama could be seen out in the garden working. As she ate she wondered what she would need to do tonight as far as missions. She hadn't had any last night despite the fat that the moon was full and high in the sky. Hama had told her that she had something big planned for Katara and had kept her in last night so she could plan. Katara was never informed ahead of time what her missions were until the night of. After she finished eating she placed her dishes in the sink and headed out into the garden to talk with Hama. The elderly woman smiled when she looked up from tending to some vegetables.

"Need any help Hama?" Katara asked kindly.

"No thank you dear, but if you wouldn't mind going to the market and picking up some things that would be great." Hama told her. "There's a list on the counter."

Katara nodded and headed back into the kitchen and grabbed the list before heading out towards town after giving a wave to Hama.

Scanning the list she took stock of what she had already and crossed them off the list before heading for a vender selling tea. The selections were various and quite expensive for a small town vender. She picked up a few Jasmine and Orange as well as Jade Lily and Earl Grey. She handed money to the vendor as she put the tea into the whicker basket on her arm. The warm air brushed her face ruffling her hair gently. With an annoyed grunt she felt someone bump into her making her drop her groceries. The person apologized. Looking at them it was a boy a couple years older than her. He vaguely reminded her of Sokka, her older brother, but shook it away. He was back in the Southern Water Tribe. He gathered her items and handed them back to her.

"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going." He told her.

"Its okay." Katara reassured him.

As she stood he handed her the basket. After her gave her a puzzled look he walked off to a vendor. Brushing back a stray bang Katara stood in front of a fruit vendor and scanned apples and oranges. Paying for them she sighed looking to the sky to see the sun was high up signaling noon. She headed out of the market place and back towards home.

Upon arriving home she unloaded what she'd bought. Hama had left a note on the counter saying that she'd gone out and would be back before nightfall. Katara decided to go out towards the lake to relax for a bit before Hama returned. Walking out the backdoor she headed into the trees towards the large lake. She slipped off her sandals and dipped her feet in the water feeling it caress her feet soothingly. She relaxed her body before diving into the middle of the lake. The water surrounding her seemed to become a part of her body. Moving her hands very slightly she created waves and figures that danced on the lake's surface. She hummed a lullaby that her mother used to sing her when she was young. The soft call of turtle-ducks caught her ears. Opening her eyes she saw a mother turtle-duck being followed by her babies. She giggled when one of the babies nipped at her bare feet. She closed her eyes again and felt herself drift off to sleep.

She was awoken by the feeling something soft on her stomach. Opening her eyes she saw a baby turtle-duck curled up sleeping. The sun was almost down setting. Katara gently removed the turtle duck and swam back to shore. She placed him with her family before grabbing her sandals and heading back towards home.

Katara entered the house to see Hama humming and preparing dinner. Greeting her in the doorway she headed to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. Her hair was still slightly wet from the lake but she ignored it and shut off the water to dry her hands. Walking back to the kitchen she sat across from Hama to eat the dinner she'd prepared.

"Katara, after you eat I want you to get ready." Hama told her sipping her soup.

Katara nodded and waited for her to continue. "Your mission will take a few days so you must prepare an overnight bag and find some place safe to stay."

"What is my target?" Katara asked.

Hama smirked. "The Fire Nation Prince."


	3. Her Mission Begins

As the vanished from the sky Katara was in her room putting clothes in a bag. Hama had told her that the reason the mission would take so long was because Katara would have to take out most of the guards that were constantly around the prince. The young waterbender had scoffed saying it would be easy but nodded as Hama instructed her with the proper procedure to take down the prince. She'd heard he was a fairly strong firebender although not as strong as his sister but still pretty strong. She warned Katara about his skills.

Tying her hair up in a ponytail Katara swung her bag over her shoulder and exited her room. Hama gave her a pack of food before hugging her and wishing her a safe mission. Katara headed out into the night and tried to think of the quickest and stealthiest way to the palace.

It didn't take long to reach the gates of the palace. It was surrounded by large walls with guards patrolling in pairs. As a pair walked by Katara summoned some water from the trees nearby to lift her swiftly and silently over the walls. The palace courtyard was fairly nice and full of vegetation which would be useful for Katara's mission. She quickly jumped into a bush as a girl with her hair cascading down her back wearing a crimson nightdress walked by with a girl with pigtails wearing a pink shirt and pants.

"Ty Lee, must you follow me everywhere I go?" the one in crimson asked. Her voice made Katara shiver. She could hear evil in the voice.

The one in pink giggled and flipped to walk on her hands. "Of course, without Mai here I'm bored."

Once they were gone Katara silently crept towards the palace entrance. She swept water over her feet freezing it before climbing a golden pillar to walk on the ceiling without detection. She halted when she saw a tall man walking down the corridor. He looked to be the Fire Lord seeing as he wore the fire crown on his head. He looked smug and from where she was Katara knew she could easily take him down but her mission was the prince. The Fire Lord would be later.

It seemed like she'd been walking the ceiling forever. It was the easiest way to got through the palace without being seen or having to sneak outside. She'd heard some guards talking about the prince. Before she took down his guards she'd have to know where the prince was so she could find out which were his then make her move.

Following one guard's words that the prince was in the garden preferring to be alone Katara quickened her pace to a window. She gazed around the garden and spotted a small pond with a figure sitting beside it, she could hear turtle-ducks quaking.. Twisting her body she made a jump out the high window to land quietly on her feet behind a tree that was near the figure. She was in the perfect position to strike him down but she knew better than to go against Hama's plans. He was talking to the turtle-ducks.

"I know I haven't been here for awhile but I've got some bread for you." His voice was soft and gentle.

Katara steeled herself like she'd been taught. Hama had told her that some firebenders tried to sounds sweet but it was a façade to cover their cold hearts. The prince was silent and unaware of how close he was to a person who could end his life. Katara hoisted herself up into the tree but grunted softly making him spin around to find the source of the sound. She scolded herself and sat still and quite. She was relieved as the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. It was the girl, Azula from earlier.

"Hey Zuzu, I see your feeding the vermin gain." Azula said referring to the turtle-ducks.

The prince growled. Katara watched him stand and stalk towards the palace. Azula just chuckled and stared at the turtle-ducks. Blue flames appeared in her hand. Katara's breath caught, she was gonna burn the turtle-ducks! Moving her hands Katara cast an invisible water shield over the creatures pretecting them from the evil blue flames. Azula looked displeased as she tried time and time again to burn them but to no effect she scowled and stalked towards the palace herself. Katara sighed pleased with her self and slipped out of the tree to crouch by the pond. She gently stroked the turtle-ducks and noticed that the bread the prince had offered them lay forgotten on the ground. She broke it into equal pieces and tossed them into the pond before making her way to the palace.


	4. Meeting Iroh and feelign remorse

Thinking to herself Katara decided it was probably safer if she disguised herself so she could blend into the palace and stay under the radar. She debated slipping into he princess's room but quickly decided against it considering how cruel the girl was to harmless creatures. She spotted a door that she figured led to a kitchen. Inside the room was actually a laundry room. Grabbing a red dress that touched her knees she tied her hair up in the traditional Fire Nation girl hairstyle before slipping out. Hama would congratulate her cleverness seeing as she passed by several people guards included and no one even cast a glance of suspicion towards her.

The palace was definitely huge considering she'd searching for hours trying to find the prince but to no effect. Based on the moon's position she could see that it was nearing midnight and fewer people were in the corridors but guards were patrolling in pairs. She knew she'd have to walk the ceiling again soon so the guards wouldn't question her being there. Footsteps behind her had her tense and looking for escape. A cool drop of sweat rolled down her neck as she felt them closing in on her.

"Excuse me, maid." She stopped.

She turned slowly but kept her eyes low. It appeared to be a guard. "Prince Zuko is in need of sheets that other more useless maids seemed to have overlooked." He said coldly. "Go get them and give them to him then get back to work."

His tone made Katara growl but went back to the laundry room to fetch clean sheets. She quickly realized she had no clue where the prince's room was. But of course being her Katara refused to ask. It wasn't hard to spot. Two guards were posted outside the door as if to protect him. She chuckled to herself, fat chance. She formed a sharp blade of water over her hands and dug one into the first guard's chest while sticking the other in second's stomach. The groaned as their blood seeped from them. Too easy. She dropped the sheets and cracked the door to the room open but was met by an elderly man sitting on a bed sipping tea reading a book. He looked wise and warm but a little sadden. Katara slowly made her way over to him.

"Um…sir, are you okay?" she asked.

The man opened his eyes and smiled kindly at her. "I am fine my dear. But you do not look so well." He told her.

Katara was confused. She looked herself over to see any sign of looking unwell but found none. The elderly man handed her a small mirror. She took it and looked at her reflection. Nothing looked wrong.

"I look fine." She said as if trying to convince herself.

The old man patting the spot next to him on the bed. Katara seated herself beside him.

"You're face looks serious but your eyes hold shame and fear." The man told her.

Katara gasped. Her blue eyes turned away from him. She felt exposed to him with him looking into her eyes as if they were an open book. He went on talking.

"Eyes are the window into a person's soul. It shows us what they are hiding without them telling us themselves. What have you seen my dear?" he asked.

She tried to push away her emotions. Hama had taught her that her destiny was to kill firebenders and take down the Fire Nation. Standing from the bed she made her way to the door.

"I understand you do not wish to talk about it." The old man sounded kind. "If you ever need someone to talk to you can come by any time. My name is Iroh."

"I'm Katara." She quickly made her way out of the room.

She stepped over the bodies of the two guards. Their blood stained the floor. Her emotions flared in her to fix what she'd done. She closed her eyes praying for them before carefully encasing their bodies in ice and taking them out to the gardens. She dug two graves and carefully placed them in them before covering them with dirt and planting flowers over to honor them. She went back to the palace and scrubbed the blood from the floor. Her body was exhausted after she finished so she headed to where she guessed the servants quarters were to go to bed.


End file.
